She came into the match with the advantage of having twice beaten Dutch star Bertens previously, including as recently as last August in Montreal.

World number eight Kvitova will face Sasnovich later Friday in the other semi-final, the same woman who knocked her out of Wimbledon in the opening round last year.

The Belarusian might be a qualifier in Sydney but has previously reached two WTA finals, including in Brisbane last year, and has five top 10 career wins.

Seppi edged past Schwartzman 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, a day after derailing the hopes of top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, proving he still has what it takes at age 34.

The Italian, seeded eight, had made three previous semi-finals in Sydney -- the first way back in 2006. But he had never gone further and was delighted to get a crack at another ATP title to add to three he already owns.

"It was never easy, he is a great fighter and makes you play a lot of balls and you have to run a lot," said Seppi of the Argentinian. "But I played a good match today and was happy to close it out.

"I'm trying to keep working hard and I always play well in Australia. My last final was in 2015, so excited to be on another one," he added.

Australia has been a happy hunting ground for Seppi.

As well as his deep runs in Sydney, he has a trio of round-of-16 appearances at the Australian Open, when he pulled off upsets against Marin Cilic in 2013, Roger Federer in 2015 and Nick Kyrgios in 2017

He will play either exciting young Australian Alex de Minaur or veteran French star Gilles Simon in the final.
Source: AFP

Can he stop complaining for once in his career ? It's already a shame when he acts weird on court

Cypheril y a 6 minutes

High expectations is killing them....

vismaiil y a 3 heures

Rafa will play his game and adjust when/if it's needed. Per usual. Tiafoe will have to outplay him.

christinenelles88il y a 3 heures

Remember when Federer challenged Sampras. Things change. The game remains. Doesn't take anything away from Roger as it didn't take anything away from Pete. We will see where Stefanos stands in comparison to Roger and the rest of the field when he's 37.